Walking into boost
Published in "Programmer" Journal 2002 March 2002
Auntie
Summary
It has been circulating such a statement, I want to be a master, be sure to read the source code of the master. Which code is a good material? Source code for C standard library? No, if you read, you will find that it is either a variety of realization of unique ways to make people feel that the horrible code style (such as underline) is uncomfortable. The code of the BOOST library is quite clear, the annotation is reasonable, naming, and is definitely a model for reading. At the same time, Boost content is wide, numerical calculation, generic programming, metamorphi, platform API ... may wish to choose some of you interested in it, delicate taste.
In this article, we will introduce the download and installation of the Boost library and will experience a very simple and practical component in the Boost library: lexcial_cast.
table of Contents
Introduction to Boost
Download and installation
Lexical_cast
String → value
Value → string
abnormal
Precautions
summary
Introduction to Boost
What is BOOST? A set of open source, highly portable C libraries. Who is initiated? Working Group C Standard Board Working Group. Therefore, quality assurance is not afraid to encounter counterfeiting and shoddy products.
What is it?瞧:
Regular expressions can be comparable to the POSIX API and Perl language to handle regular expressions, but also support various character types (such as char, wchar_t, or even custom character types); multithreading, thinking about it for a long time Cross-platform multi-thread library; data structure "map", plus upcoming standard Hash_SET, Hash_MAP, Hash_MultiSet, hash_multimap, etc. In fact, such as SGI STL, has supported the above data structure), C supports the support of the data structure has been complete; python, is wrong, support for the Python language; intelligent pointer, good use with std :: auto_ptr, can eliminate memory leaks, efficiency and garbage collection mechanism GC on the same day More cyclic redundant CRC, easy to define a tuple TUPLE that returns multiple values functions, can accommodate the ANY of different types, supplemented to all aspects of the standard library ... Still expand, some content is expected to enter C Standard library ...
Download and installation
Where to download BOOST? English http://www.boost.org [1], Chinese http://boost.c-view.org, you can find a compressed package in .zip or .tar.gz format. After downloading, unzip a directory, such as boost_1_26_0, usually there are such subdirectory: boost, libs, more, people, status, tools, see if there is no problem.
If you are too lazy to download the entire compressed package when Boost update, you only want to update a changed file; or you are a Boost Fans like me, you want to track the latest changes in Boost, you can use the CVS mode. First, there is a CVS client software, such as the WinCVS, GCVS, and MacCVS provided by cvsgui (http://www.wincvs.org or http://sourceforge.net/projects/cvsgui/), which is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS platform. Download, install, start the three steps.
If you are accustomed to the traditional CVS command line mode, you can enter the following line in Admin → Command Line ... → Command Line Settings [2]: CVS -Z3 -D: PServer: anonymous@cvs.boost.sourceforge.net : / CVSROOT / BOOST CHECKOUT BOOST Socket The following check box, select the local target directory (such as creating a new C: / Boost, this can be updated, then click OK to start updating. If it is the first time, you may take a while to download all files. Of course, the update will only take a short time. If you prefer the GUI mode, select Admin → Preferences ..., in General's Enter CVS root: anonymous@cvs.boost.sourceforge.net: / cvsroot / boostauthentication Select "Passwd" File on the CVS Server, use Version Select CVS 1.10 (STANDARD). Then fill in or select a local target directory in WinCVS's Home Folder, click OK. Select View → Browse Location → Change ... After changing to the local target directory, fill in the Boost in Create → Check Module ... → Enter The Module Name and Path on The Server in CHECKOTSTINGS, click OK. If you need to enter a password during this process, you don't have to pay attention to it directly. This is the case of WinCVS 1.2. If you are downloading a new version, please pay attention to the settings of the settings, such as the previous Authentication Select PServer, do not need to set the USE Version et al.
Then set the compiler. Take the Windows commonly used integrated environment as an example. Microsoft Visual C 6.0, can be added to the include Files search path at the tool → Select → Directory to add the Boost path (such as the previous boost_1_26_0) to the Include Files search path. For Borland C Builder 5.0, it is added to Project → Options → Directories / Conditionals → Include Path to add Boost's path. There is also a relatively commonly used DEV-C 4.0 (built-in GNU C , you can download free from http://www.bloodshed.net), you can add Boost's path to Options → Compile Options → Directories → C Include Files . Other IDE is similar. As for the command line, the Boost path is given to the corresponding header file path parameter (Borland C Compiler, GNU C is -i, VC C is / i).
Do this, congratulations, most BOOST libraries can be used.
Why not all? First, there is currently no compiler that can fully comply with the C standard, so the components in the Boost library are more or less unavailable. Please see the "Compiler Status" on the Boost website. In addition, some libraries require Build's corresponding lib or DLL files. However, such a library is small, mainly due to the reasons for platform correlation, such as the regex library that handles regular expressions, supporting the Python language Python library, etc., the process of building the library is quite cumbersome, you need to use JAM tools (you can simply : There are three files Win32-borlandc.mk, win32-gcc.mk, win32-visualc.mk, Win32-gcc.mk, Win32-Visualc.mk, Borland C Compiler, GNU C , and Visual C for Windows platforms, respectively. MAK file. If you are in the UNIX platform, you should use the Tools / Build / Makefile. Use the command line tool Make or NMAKE to make a JAM execution file, and then use the JAM to construct the library, and the details of the Boost.Build document can be seen in detail. My personal suggestion is that I don't have to build LIB or DLL. Really need to use these libraries, then make the MAK file provided by Make. Although Boost.jam may be the direction of the future development of the Boost library, but after all, there is no need to construct it, it can be used directly. Lexical_cast
This time we first pick a simple and practical Boost component to see what Boost can bring us convenience.
String → value
On the 9CBS Forum, I often see how to transform between string types and numerical types, and I have seen many different answers. Let's discuss the conversion from string types to numerical types.
How to convert a string "123" to int type integer 123? The answer is, use standard C library function atoi; if you want to convert to long type? Standard C library function atol; how to convert "123.12" into double type? Standard C library function ATOD; if you want to convert to long double type? Standard C library function atOLD; ......
Later, there were friends to start using the String class in the standard library, ask this how to convert it into a value? Some friends answer, please turn to const char *. I admire the responses' thinking of mathematicians: transforming unfamiliar issues into familiar issues. (I have had a joke, the good matter asked the mathematician: Do you know how to burn water? A: I know. Put the kettle full water, ignite the burning. Ask: If there is water in the kettle? A: Pour it first, Transforming to my familiar problem ...)
No, no, this is C's approach, not C . So what should C do? The function lexical_cast (need to introduce header file boost / lexical_cast.hpp) is undoubtedly easier to use the function lexical_cast provided by Boost Conversion Library. Such as:
#include
#include
int main ()
{
Using boost :: lexical_cast;
INT A = lexical_cast
Double b = lexical_cast
Std :: cout << B << std :: end1;
Return 0;
} A function is simply solved all problems.
Value → string
So what is the type of value to a string?
Use ITOA? No, there is no such function at all in standard C / C . Even if some compilers under the Windows platform provide this function [3], there is no transplantability, but only the int type (perhaps other functions can also solve the type of long, unsigned long), how is the floating point type? do? Of course, the way is still there, that is: Sprintf.
Char s [100];
Sprintf (s, "% f", 123.123456);
I don't know if you are in C.
What is the impression of the Scanf / Printf series, and I can't remember those of those whimged parameters, and if you write a wrong parameter, you will get an inexplicable output result. If you debug it, you can have to live (I hate the character array Space open 100, afraid too small; open 100000, always feel too wasteful, heart is suffocating, good at C standards for us
String such a string class). At this moment,
Lexical_cast is coming out.
#include
#include
#include
int main ()
{
Using std :: string;
Const Double D = 123.12;
String s = boost :: lexical_cast
Std :: cout << S << std :: end1;
Return 0;
} As simple as the front.
abnormal
If the conversion fails, it will have an exception Bad_lexical_cast. This anomaly class is a subclass of standard anomaly BAD_CAST.
#include
#include
int main ()
{
Using std :: cout;
Using std :: end1;
INT I;
Try {
I = boost :: lexical_cast
}
Catch (boost :: bad_lexical_cast & e)
{
Cout << E.WHAT () << endl;
Return 1;
}
COUT << i << endl;
Return 0;
} Obviously "ABCD" does not convert to an int type value, throwing an exception, capturing information "Bad Lexical Cast: Source Type Value Could Not Be Interpreted as Target".
Precautions
Lexical_cast depends on the character stream std :: stringstream (automatically introduced first "SSTREAM> [4]), its principle is quite simple: read the source type into the character stream, and then write it to the target type. E.g
INT D = Boost :: Lexical_cast
Std :: stringstream s;
S << "123";
S >> D; since it is using a character stream, of course, there are some problems that follow, it needs to be specifically pointed out.
[5].
Since the localization of Visual C 6 implements problems, if you use non-default Locale, you may be inexplicably throwing an exception. Of course, in general, we don't need to change the default Locale, so the problem is not very big. The input data must be "complete" to convert, otherwise the Bad_lexical_cast exception is thrown. For example I = boost :: lexical_cast
Will throw an exception. Because "123.123" can only "partially" to 123, it cannot be "complete" to 123.123. The accuracy problem of floating point numbers.
Std: string s = boost :: lexical_cast
The result of the above statement is "123.1234567", but in fact, we will only get "123.123", because the accuracy of Std :: StringStream is 6 (this is the "senior" Printf in the C language library. Tradition). This can be said to be a bug of Boost :: Lexical_cast. How to do it? Meeting of power, can do this: Open the header file
// ...
Template
Target Lexical_cast (Source Arg) {
// ...
Target Result;
Interpreter.Precision (std :: numeric_limits
IF (! ("(interpreter << arg) ||
! (Interpreter >> Result) ||
! (Interpreter >> std :: ws) .eof ())
// ...
} You can get the correct result. Of course, there will be a little loss in theoretical efficiency, but it is almost negligible.
summary
We have experienced Boost :: Lexcial_cast. Of course, Lexical_cast is not limited to the conversion between string type and numerical type: can be converted from the type of StringStream input to the type and any type of StringStream input. This understanding, although it is rough, but after all, we have "walk into Boost", not just "approach". In the future, we can experience the moving of Boost yourself.
[1] If you have a DNS error in the Boost English website, http://64.226.201.52/.
[2] Please refer to the "Download Download and Installation" section in the Boost document.
[3] Borland C Builder provides ITOA, while Microsoft Visual C provides a function of the same function, but the name is _itoa.
[4] Some standard library implementations that do not meet the standards, the character stream name is Strstream, in the header file
[6] Thank you very much for Andrew Koenig and Bjarne Stroustrup two advice and help. The most beginning my thoughts are to specify the maximum accuracy, join the statement such as Interpreter.Precision (15), but worry about the problem of transplantability. Mr. Andrew Koenig gives a very clear explanation: You are quite correct that 15 is not portable across all floating-point implementations However, it is portable across all implementations that support IEEE floating-point arithmetic, which is most computers that are in. common use today. If you want to do better than that, you might consider using numeric_limits
